wolffie

White comedian born in Africa (thus technically African-American?) joked about that ("You stopped me 'cause I'm African-American, right?" "No, because you were driving on the sidewalk...""Touche`")

Jimmy Hoffa?

Are you anywhere near north Seattle? 11.5 is prolly too big for me, but maybe worth a look...

I have only an occasional need for a real climbing boot (as opposed to a backpacking boot), so I'm not terribly fussy. Do not require a full-shank boot. North Seattle/UW. mens 10.5-11. A 10 might work.

I know I'm sanctimoniously quoting Scripture, but Becky does say, "do not blaze, tag, or flag cross-country routes; remove any such existing markers. Develop your own routefinding skills and do not spoil the unmarked wilderness." -- green book, 1st ed., p.16 Elsewhere, more pointedly, I believe he writes "...people who find it necessary to festoon the wilderness with plastic flags should be condemned to an eternity of removing such... If you find it necessary to mark your route, use brightly colored crepe paper, which soon fades and dissolves..." There you have it, chapter and verse, straight from the Good Book.

TarpTent Squall2 SOLD 34 oz. I also have poles for it if you do not use trekking poles. Almost new; I've used it 2 nights. I really like this tent, low wind profile, but I need something larger. This is a light, 2-person tent. $150 firm, north Seattle.

75cm BD Raven Pro is what I have in mind. I have a Grivel Pamir 78.5 cm, trying to get something lighter, just for alpine snow travel. Might go as short as 70 cm.

WTB Bearikade bear can, Solo, Weekender, or Expedition. north Seattle.

WTB: MSR Lightning Ascent 25 snowshoes. N Seattle

Trip: Glacier Peak - South ridge, Disappointment Peak direct Date: 8/5/2012 Trip Report: Big Al claims the first failed ascent of Glacier Peak by a Pembroke Welsh corgi without supplemental oxygen: Nobody gets nowhere without the Darrington road & trail crews, who opened up the North Fork Sauk just 2 weeks prior, a huge job: Indian Head Pk. Kodak Peak at far right. This trip is worth it if you go no farther than White Pass (off-screen to the right): White Pass from the NE along the Foam Basin sheep trail. Johnson at left, White Mt. at right. Read Chester Marler, East of the Divide, for an interesting chapter about the sheep grazing history: Here's the 6600' pass from above the end of the sheep trail over to the White Chuck Glacier: What's left of the White Chuck Glacier: Al on the White Chuck Glacier; our high point is shown: Glacier Gap is just off-screen at far right. Our 7739' bivvy peak is about dead-center: Sunset between Pugh and White Chuck mountains: The latest in high-tech canine comfort: Suiattle Glacier and Kololo peaks from near our 7739' bivvy peak. Glacier Gap is in the center there somewhere. Find the corgi in this picture: Where it gets ugly. The S ridge is Disappointment Peak is a lot rockier and looser than I remembered, no place for a dog, so I quit at 9200' (level with top of the snowfield at right). Al was disappointed. He'll follow me into the Jaws of Death. I don't want him to go that far. This is a very reasonable route for a small party ultra-careful about loose rock, and maybe faster than carrying rope gear and roping-up. Class 2, I've done it solo before. We saw several people doing the glacier unroped -- arguably reasonable, but not in Al's playbook. Did I mention loose rock? No place for a dog at all?: View east. Maude at left, Buck at right (Al's climbed both). Napeequa peak is dead-center foreground (must have a worthwhile view!). The small peak to Napeequa's left is Mt. Cleator, a 15 min. walkup fro High Pass. A wider pan of the upper Suiattle valley and Entiats to the west. The green slope in front of Fortress is Helmet Butte, with Buck Ck Pass just to its right. Read C.E. Rusk, Tales of a Western Mountaineer, a great read, which includes (with much else) an account of the 2nd ascent of Glacier from Buck Pass with a rifle, a couple blankets, and little else. The Cool Glacier is named for A.L. Cool(?) his companion on that trip): Dakobed Range to the east. Clark behind, Tenpeak in the middle. Upper Suiattle valley in foreground. The Suiattle Glacier nunatak: Black Mt., looking west. Portal Peak would be way off to its left somewhere: Dude (Buck Mt. behind): Our rocky ridge is directly above Al's head. We chickened-out at 9:00 AM, so we had all day to amble slowly back across the corpse of the White Chuck Glacier, getting fried by the sun. We re-crossed the 6600' pass and found this bare-sand campsite right above the end of the Foam Creek sheep trail. Could this spot be old sheep-grazing soil damage? Perhaps Al senses the spirits of other herding dogs long passed: May I rant? Where not to camp -- right in the middle of blooming flowers at the 6600' pass -- please don't do this: It never hurts to be good-lookin' (so I've heard): I couldn't tear myself away until a few hours later than the last minute, so we bumbled over to Red Pass and scrambled up Portal Peak as an afterthought. Not to be missed. If you've come this far, come this far! We got this great view of where we'd been. White Mt. is at far right. The sharp nubbin on the far horizon is Clark Mt. Remember that Sloan and Monte Cristo are right behind you, dominating that section of the PCT: At play in the fields of the Lord. As usual, Al made not a sound the entire trip: This was a repeat of a solo ascent maybe 15 years ago, late '90s. That time, before my hike out, I was awakened by Jupiter-rise and brewed coffee and broke camp before dawn. I hoisted and buckled the pack, then ingested some remarkable Vitamin A. The hike out via Glacier Peak Meadows took a long, long time. I recall sitting, surrounded by perhaps 10 ptarmigans at one point. The PCT looked too civilized and developed to approach -- not ready to go back yet -- so I scrambled up the north side of White Mt. and found this balloon in the moat: I was in no mood to question this clear sign from the heavens. Although its message speaks to all who behold it, on this repeat trip, it occurred to me that it belongs most appropriately to the MBSNF Darrington road & trail crews and contractors who've made all our trips up here possible. You think? Gear Notes: Chillybuddy dog cooling vest (Al is a black-backed dog). This actually does work and looks great with his tinfoil home-made helmet (for ET brainwave implant protection). Outward Hound collapsible dog bowl. Vital Essentials freeze-dried raw meat dog food (hard, not crumbly, low-odor). Dog chest harness and quick-draw belay leash. Doggles and Mesheye dog sunglasses. ElCheapo Camp K9 sleeping bag. Pawz dog booties (balloon-like paw condoms for emergency pad injuries). Vet-wrap adhesive gauze for paw injuries. Ice ax. Crampons (not used). Approach Notes: North Fork Sauk River > White Pass > Foam Creek Basin sheep trail > pass 6600' > White Chuck Glacier to Glacier Gap. Red Pass and Glacier Peak Meadows is a charming alternative approach.

I have seen objectionable corgis, all rescues. Ours are almost entirely silent. Al didn't bark at the Blue Grouse chicks, or the marmots, or the deer outside the tent. S'pozed to be a herding dog, but he seems to have low prey drive. Passed his Porcupine Test (good dog!). Hiked 9 days around Glacier Peak, and his one single sharp bark -- into the silent darkness outside of camp -- really got my attention. Al will occasionally freak and attack another larger dog with no warning or provocation, so I always have a quick-draw leash, and we practice. You have to know your animal and be responsible, esp. around horses. I know many people don't like dogs -- I used to be one of them -- and they have their reasons, presumably good ones.

Trip: Chikamin Peak - south, from PCT Date: 8/11/2012 Trip Report: A lifetime ambition to watch the Perseid meteor showers from a mountaintop realized purely by accident. Bivouacked on Chikamin's NW 6925' summit with Al the corgi, perfectly positioned but oblivious to the opportunity, when 2 improbable passersby mentioned the meteor shower. Awakened by spectacular orange crescent moonrise with Jupiter at 1:30 AM, I kept watch until 3 AM. They really do radiate from a quite small spot in the sky, between Perseus and Cassiopeia. Ordinary meteors catch your attention ("Hey, guys, you're goin' the wrong way!"). Many left plasma trails. The late crescent moon (unfortunately close to Perseus) did not brighten the sky catastrophically. A meteor every minute or three, and we saw only the bright ones. Dark enough to see the Andromeda galaxy with the naked eye. You need mountaintop, no moon, clear weather, right date. I recommend: if you don't know your way around the night sky, figure it out. Not difficult, way cool. The route up the SW slope of Chikamin is not obvious from the PCT. It diagonals up the slope, but disappears around a corner into a gully. I could not spot the route visually, and went by memory. When there's snow, you'll definitely want ax and maybe crampons. Al claims the 1st failure on Chikamin by a Pembroke Welsh corgi. We tried the rock on the S, bad idea. We went up the steep snow finger on the N to the notch, ice ax and crampons, but Al kept getting his feet tangled in his belay leash. Bad idea. No place for a dog, not recommended. It was just my ego. Retreated in good order, but remember that descent is much more difficult for a dog. The runout was only sort-of-OK. Even on the S approach scramble, you have to be extremely careful with a dog. They are stupid about rockfall. You want nobody below you. Al, in this case, dislodged almost none. A bigger dog would be more dangerous IMO. Gear Notes: ice ax, crampons dog chest harness with quick-draw belay leash Outward Hound collapsible dog bowl Chillybuddy dog cooling vest (it works) El Cheapo Camp K9 sleeping bag Pawz emergency dog booties Freeze-dried raw meat dog food Approach Notes: PCT from I-90. Enough water. Juvenile martens. It's a Katwalk, you dummy: Right foreground is Alaska Mt. Center is Huckleberry. Shark fin is Chikamin. Broad center skyline is our 6926 bivvy: Huckleberry & Chikamin from Alaska Mt on PCT: Al claims 1st failed ascent by a corgi on Chikamin Peak; don't try this at home, it was a bad idea: You can see our footsteps up the steep snow finger. It was a mistake: A corgi will slip neatly out of this chest harness in a vertical hang; not OK for high log crossings. On steep snow, the dog gets its feet tangled in the belay rope. Poor technique. Snoqualmie sunset: Sunset: Sunrise: Sunset: Sunrise: Solitude and Company: Chikamin Gap on PCT:

WTB MSR Ascent 25 snowshoes North Seattle.

TR, Little Giant -Spider Gap If you can fit this in, there's a great bivvy site high up on Middle Ridge above the sheep camp. Glorious view, and I think one could climb the NW buttress of Fortress from there. Bivvy at the lip of the moraine, 7300', look for a conspicuous cubical rock. You could go on to to Plummer, Cloudy, North Star, even hop over Red, maybe do Chiwawa, and go out Chiwawa R if you're parked at Trinity. It definitely looks like more fun with good snow cover (9/5/11 was more like late July/early August).

I carried this 9 days around Glsacier Peak 9/2010. I could live with this pack except the hip belt is too wide to ride high enough on my 31" waist(!). I am amazed that Kelty, who invented the hip belt, could make such a mistake. The suspension is very sophisticated, on a par with other packs these days. No squeaks. Easily adjustable, in mid-stride. My scale says it's 5.7 lbs, and I think my scale reads 5% high, which makes it about 5 lbs. 7 oz. Construction is nothing like Kelty packs of old; it is not built to last a lifetime. A reasonable compromise between weight and longevity. It's not an ultralight pack, but you have to treat it carefully. One non-essential compressor strap ripped out on the 2nd day. The hoisting loop is a joke, strong enough to hang the empty pack on a hook in your gear closet. The orange color is a plus for hunter safety, one reason I chose it. Has a lot of outer pockets, which I find useful. I'd have kept it but for the waist belt being too big to cinch tightly enough. wolffie at uw.edu

Dunno about mileage/gain this trip. Al's smaller auntie, Gwynnie, at 2-3 years' age went 23 mi. in 14 hrs. with 9000' total gain, some of it off-trail. She wasn't happy with me by the end of the day, but I never had to wait for her. Corgis are bred for cattle herding in Wales, so, outdoor dogs. I cannot outwalk them. Never have to wait for them except in hot sun.

Trip: Little Giant -- Spider Gap loop -- Buck Mt. tourist rte., Louis Creek High Route to High Pass. Date: 9/2/2011 Trip Report: Little Giant -- Spider Gap loop. 5 days' freedom in perfect weather. Parked at Little Giant TH, hiked the road back from Phelps Creek TH. One might stash a bike. NOTE: 2011 was a record-snowpack year; snow, water, bug, flower conditions described herein are more like a normal July, not Sept. Little Giant Pass: An ace trail crew did everything between the trailhead and the pass except bridge the river. Lovely job. Expect bear hunters around here. Napeequa Valley from Little Giant Pass: Start the Louis Creek High Route a few hundred yards upstream of the Louis Creek waterfall, alder-free relentlessly steep ice-ax meadow. I would rather ascend than descend this, and I would not want to do it without an ax: Camp 1 at headwaters of Louis Creek in Buck/Berge col on a pumice hillock. Look for a big larch girdled by a bear. Would be lovely when the larches are yellow. Entire curious landscape smothered by pumice from most recent Glacier Peak eruption; the pumice apparently filled-in a lake, now a sandy marsh. This pumice is found at least as far east as Phelps Creek, probably farther. Buck Mt. Tourist Route: NOTE: Plentiful snow made it much more enjoyable, much more scenic. Did not use crampons. I'd say, do this route as soon as you can ford the Chiwawa and the snow is consolidated. It was perfect snow travel, firm, no postholing, not too hard. Al on the Tourist Route. Spire Mt. at left skyline. Dome Pk to its right. Fortress Mt. at right skyline (the tourist route goes through his ears). Plummer Mt. is just below Sinister(?) at skyline, center. Pass No Pass is just above the snowpatch, center-left. The pyramid at left is Helmet Butte, 7400. Looking west to the Louis Creek High Route across Mt. Berge. High Pass is on the other side. Navigation might be tricky in poor viz. Buck Mt. The true summit is marked by an obvious white calcite dike: "Sit. Stay. Look Pretty." ... OK, I'll settle for "Stay" at 8500' with a 600' dead-vertical drop right behind you. Al wouldn't look at the camera, seemed oddly nervous. I wonder why?. Not his highest ascent; that thing above his back is. He slept on Maude with me in August. The hideous 500' vertical drop off the north side of Buck's summit. Came here to climb it 30 years ago. Glad we never even found our way across the river. Summit view looking south. Curious calcite(?) dike. Summit view to south (Clark Mt. at skyline): Summit view to west (Glacier Peak with Napeequa Pk in front of it, Berge at right): Best of Show: Big Al at south Berge col, Buck Mt. in background. Note the white dike that splits the true summit: From Berge col, I've twice gone SW to gentler ground, then traversed level to the High Pass Basin outfall, staying as high as possible below the rock buttress guarding the outfall. This year, with all the snow, with crampons one might make a direct NW descent from the col to the basin. That lower bit is steep, and would be unpleasant without snow cover. From High Pass basin, it looked like you could go steeply up the snow, directly SE to the col. High Pass, solo bivvy right at the top. Solitude with company: Napeequa Peak: The view from the sleeping bag: Yup, he's handsome. His daddy is Cary Grant. Really: 9/4/11, Triad Lake wasn't even melted-out: Hikers crossing High Pass with light shoes and hiking poles. I used crampons there that morning. The snow was getting soft by now, but arguably lethally dangerous in several places along the High Pass trail. Several hikers seemed oblivious to the dangers of steep snow: trail shoes, single pole, long steep runout onto rocks. I never really needed the crampons on this trip, but it was a good call to bring them; had the snow been hard, I would have needed them. I fear many people misunderestimate this stuff. I did when I broke my ankle. Chillybuddy dog cooling vest on Mt. Cleator, a 15' walkup from the pass. It does help keep the dog cool in hot sun with no shade; I recommend it for black dogs. Shields against extraterrestrial brainwave implants, too. You have to make your own tinfoil helmet. His auntie has done the tourist route on Fortress. Thank you for not laughing at my dog: At play in the fields of the Lord. Hazy with wildfire smoke. This was one of A.H.Sylvester's favorite places: Try to do this place when the flowers are blooming. Budget plenty of time for the stretch between Buck Pass and High Pass. Don't hurry. It is impossible to photograph, and will make a meadowsniffer out of the most hardcore climber. Vast steep meadows that color the hillsides blue, yellow, white. The air is heavy with valerian and lupine odors. It's like walking through a beehive. Glacier Peak and upper Suiattle valley, Tenpeak, Kololos. World-class, no exaggeration: This shows the tourist route on Fortress from the saddle above Liberty Cap: This is the NW buttress of Fortress, from Buck Pass trail. It's the unnamed(?) thing that dominates the view from Miners' Ridge. West of the Cascade crest, it would be a major peak. Middle Ridge at right. Top red dot is our 7500' bivvy (contour oval on 7.5' map). Dot at right in moraine lip, 7300', best camp. Fine bivvy sites up above the sheep camp. I humped water up to the sheep camp from Small Creek, past stream after stream after stream, til I dumped it in disgust at the meadow amid rushing waterfalls (a sheep camp would have water, right?). But it might get dry up there in a normal September. I ended up melting snow. Olympics wildfire smoke wrecked the blue skies for photography, but gave us a great 7500' sunset: Dawn at 7500': Morning, camp 3, 7500' on the Middle Ridge buttress of Fortress. Clark Mt. at center skyline; Helmet Butte below it. We are slightly higher than Helmet Butte. Berge is at my left shoulder. Napeequa Pk is just right of Clark: The following 3 pics show Al on a conspicuous cubical rock at the lip of the moraine, 7300', best camp, 2nd-best view: Upper Suiattle valley, Tenpeak (left) and Kololos: This is the camp at the Middle Ridge Saddle. Plummer Mt. and Miners' Ridge. This is the low-rent camp, still 5-star: Continued to Miners' Ridge to look at the mines, this time with a 7.5' map to locate the shafts/prospects and adit. From the Glacier Peak Mine cabin ruin, find the miners' trail up and right to the main adit. Very dangerous mine-dump terrain, with lovely turquoise blue-green minerals lying about. Discovering Washington's Historic Mines, Oso Publishing, vol 2, (great books): Starting the ascent to Spider Gap from Upper Lyman Lake. Cloudy Pass at extreme left skyline. Don't camp there, follow the ridge as high as you can up Cloudy Peak (Class 3 summit). North Star at right. No need to hump water up from Lyman Lake; I found water flowing in the dry-looking meadow below Cloudy in a dry September. I camped at Cloudy Pass this time, 6400' U think, and there were some bugs even that high, this late, because of unseasonable moisture. Near Spider Gap, the place to camp or hang out is not at the Gap, but along the level spur S of it which separates Spider Glacier from Phelps Creek cirque. It's less than 200' lover than the gap itself, pleasant place, superb views, can probably scramble directly up there from the snout of Spider Glacier. A passerby carried the Foster's lager for a photo prop. I offered him my pack, tent, carmpons, and extra dog food for the beer. No deal. If you didn't stash a bike at Phelps Ck TH, a moon and a dog make the 5-6 mi road hike more pleasant. Stretch your legs on an even grade after a long hike. Chester Marler, "East of the Divide". C.E. Rusk, "Tales of a Western Mountaineer". Gear Notes: I flag the dogs with day-glo magenta safety ribbon (survey tape) -- I only trust 99% of the hunters. My dogs look like foxes or skunks; does yours look like a coyote? "Chillybuddy" dog cooling vest. High-tech, well-designed, effective above timberline with no shade. You must keep the inner cotton liner wet for evaporative cooling. The only times I've had to wait for these dogs is above treeline in hot sun. Recommended for black dogs especially. Keep it in a good plastic bag; handy for wetting it. "Vital Essentials" 100% raw meat freeze-dried nibblets. Pricey, lightweight, low-odor, keep well, my favorite backcountry dog food, great for longer trips. Mixed it 2:1 with Wellness kibble (smellier, bear bait). Add some vegetable oil at feeding time. "Nature's Variety" also makes a good freeze-dried raw-meat dog food. Outward Hound collapsible dog bowl. Small bottle for leftover dog water when it's scarce. Dog chest harness with quick-draw belay leash for river crossings and steep terrain. Small biners double for the bear hang. Good forceps -- porcupines. Al has low prey drive, fortunately. "Pawz" dog booties for emergency pad injuries, medium size (blue) for corgis. They're big, tough balloons that roll over the paw like condoms. They can last several miles. Light, fairly cheap, haven't used them much but seem to test out OK. "Doggles" sunglasses and "Mesheye" sunglasses. I try to make the dogs wear them when on snow for long periods. They refuse. Great photo props though. "Advantix" for ticks. Approach Notes: Chiwawa River ford at Little Giant trailhead was unusually high 9/11: almost knee-deep. Usually ankle-deep this time of year. People were crossing in early August when it was almost thigh-deep. Walking stick helpful.

I was watching you on Big Snow. That East face cliff is scary from miles away. Looking forward to your TR. It's on our list, but my car is a Saturn and I was worried about the clearance to Dingford.

Trip: Foss Lakes High Route, Iron Cap Mt., Otter Point - West Fork Foss R Trail to Necklace Valley Date: 7/2/2011 Trip Report: Get out there, now! A great opportunity to do this route on snow -- faster, easier, much more fun than dry talus -- more dog-friendly, too. Snow starts about 3900'. It's like March, incredible. Looks like perfect ski conditions. 2" mush-on-crust, no postholing, did not take crampons but they might be a good idea (it froze Sunday night at 6000', but softened quickly). It's lovely with all this snow. Didn't see a single person, footprint or ski track. Where is everybody?! Climbing *real* mountains, I guess... Hinman is in perfect condition for skiing. All lakes frozen except Trout and Otter. Jade Lake 5% open. Quiet, too; not much air traffic. You'll need 7.5' map and navigation skills if viz. is poor; I don't think I'd have tried this solo in these conditions if I hadn't already done it twice, but it turns out, these conditions were ideal. The dog loved it, a 3-day romp on snow. The soft snow was apparently easy on the pads . Sat. 7/2/11: Trail good-enough. They're working on it. New bridge is not in, and log crossing might be awash if river rises. Less than 1/2 m. from Trout Lake, stop at the first water that crosses the trail, if dry look for a big chockstone in sort of a V; backtrack 20', scramble down 15' and you'll find the Trout Lake Mine tunnel right under that water drip (photo). "Discovering Washington's Historic Mines", v. 1, Oso Publishing 1997, great book. Snow starts before Copper Lake. Bivvy on snow, nice 5500' spur due S. of Azurite Lake, good view north. Sun. 7/3/11: Awoke to drizzle, slept til noon. Progress surprisingly fast in improving weather. Climbed N ridge of Iron Cap Mtn. Was not corniced. Robbed of Chimney Rock view, but Summit Chief was visible. To cross Iron Cap's N ridge, I climb to 5800, then drop to 5400; there's a little knob or spur that threads the cliff bands (this is the crux of the route). Traversed to the saddle E of Iron Cap, thence to Tank Lakes, thence to Tahl Lake. Ascended W to the ridge and bivvied on Otter Point summit at 7 PM, the only dry ground of the trip. I put my pad right on the benchmark. Sunset 9 PM through fast roiling mists. It cleared completely and froze. Skipped the tent. Al the electric blanket corgi fits inside my sleeping bag. 5-star sunset and sunrise at 6350 with everything blanketed with snow on July 4. Chimney Rock and Overcoat finally came out, stunning. As nice a day as I could ask for: crappy start, partly cloudy, good-enough views, sun protection, perfect night, clear dawn. Mon. 7/4/11: Left Otter Point summit 10 AM. The view makes it hard to leave. Warm, sunny. Left Tank Lakes pass about noon. The moraine to Necklace Valley is so much more fun on snow! Upper Necklace Valley was filled with 12" suncups, slower going. Finally saw 1 set of footprints a N end of Jade Lake. Intermittent snow between 3900-4300'. The trail out of this hanging valley is really rough, rocky, rooty, with blowdown. First 5 mi. of Necklace Valley trail in fine shape, thanks to a recent logout crew. Big bear sign between 3-5 mi. Gear Notes: Ice axe. Didn't take or need crampons, but they might be a good idea. An altimeter might be handy for crossing Iron Cap in bad viz. Welsh corgi handy for companionship and photo prop, and counts as 2 dogs on a 2-dog night 'cause it fits in your sleeping bag (caveat: freeze-dried food makes it fart). "Doggles" and "Mesheye" sunglasses (they don't work; the dog rubs them off in the snow). "Vital Essentials" 100% raw freeze-dried dog food. "Paws" dog booties for emergencies; they're heavy-duty balloons that fit over the paws, and can last for several miles. Vet-wrap for paw injuries. Outward Hound collapsible dog bowl. Belay harness for the dog. Approach Notes: Park at Necklace Valley TH and hike the road to the West Fork Foss R. The new West Fork bridge is not in yet, and the crossing log was awash an inch on Sat AM; this might be trouble in hot weather if the river rises. Log looks slippery, but wasn't. I belayed the dog there: Trout Lake Mine adit: Native Columbine: Big Heart Lake, 7/3/11. The whole place is a skier's wet dream, but I didn'tsee a single track or footprint anywhere: Lake Angeline & Chimney Rock from the hogback separating Big Heart Lake and Lake Angeline: Looking N at Big Heart from the hogback (the ridge at right): Camp 1 was on that flat 5500' spur above-right; it's due S of Azurite Lake, nice spot. I should have belayed the dog on this steep traverse. Ideal soft snow conditions, but this was a bit steep even for a corgi. The runout was good, except for those rocks. I won't do that again: Iron Cap summit. Summit Chief in background. Pembroke Welsh Marmot in foreground: East side of Iron Cap. The crux is rounding the N ridge at far right; you drop from 5800' to a 5520' bench, then down to about 5350'; altimeter handy in poor viz: Summit Chief: Otter Point summit; room for 2 to bivvy right on the benchmark, if one is a dog: "Because I get fed triple." Sunset, 9:05 7/3/11. Roiling mists made an enthralling light show. Even Al was impressed: The darkest hour is always just before the breakfast: It's really awkward, but you can get an adaptor to mount a polarizing filter on a Canon A590 point-and-shoot, and it's worth it for the skies: Find the corgi in this picture. The Middle Fork Snoqualmie is right in front of Chimney Rock, behind the saddle we crossed in the center. Iron Cap is the white slug below Rainier at upper right. From there, the route goes R -> L across the photo: Jade Lake, the lowest gem on the necklace:

WTB snowshoes, MSR Lightning 30. North Seattle.

Found and given to a WTA work crew. I don't have it, but I can help get it to you. I was part of the crew. Identify and claim. Good condition, wasn't out long.

A serious camera bag/backpack. Interesting design, like a backpack with only one shoulder strap, so you can unsling it quickly. For someone who (unlike me) can afford serious photographic equipment. I won it in a contest (a pic of my dog), so proceeds go to a dog-rescue organization. wolffie@uw.edu Lowe Pro Slingshot 200 AW

thanks for the tip; I got 'em.

Want modern lightweight universal-binding, preferably aluminum crampons. My boot size is US 10.5 I'm more of a backpacker than a climber, nuthin' fancy or technical. I like the Stubai aluminum crampons. [my login name] at uw.edu

Nuthin' fancy. Got an old altimeter you want to unload heap? wolffie at uw.edu